Wehner Seeks Bereavement Protection for Informally Fostered Children

Opposition Senator Jonathan Wehner urged the government on Monday to amend the Fatal Accidents Bill 2026 to ensure children raised in informal family arrangements are entitled to bereavement damages when a caregiver dies.

Making his maiden contribution in the Senate, Wehner argued that while Clause 2 of the bill broadly defines who qualifies as a dependent, Clause 4, which governs bereavement damages, excludes children who have been raised by caregivers without formal adoption.

“We live in a society in the Caribbean where we say a village raises a child,” Wehner told senators, noting that many Antiguan and Barbudan families have long cared for children outside formal legal arrangements.

He cited the late St. Mary’s South MP Hilson Baptiste as someone who had raised and supported numerous children throughout his life without legally adopting them.

Wehner said similar situations remain common, particularly where children are orphaned or abandoned by their biological families.

“Now, Clause 4, bereavement, excludes such minors, such children who are neither adopted, who are not blood relatives, from being afforded any bereavement damages,” he said.

The opposition senator questioned whether lawmakers should knowingly approve legislation that leaves those children without compensation following the death of the person who raised them.

“I hope that we are compassionate in this house. We see the needs that we have reflected in our society, and we show some consistency from the same legislation that the government would have been bringing to this house,” Wehner said.

He urged the government to amend the provision during the committee stage rather than defer the issue for future legislation.

“All we’re asking for is for Clause 4 to reflect what is provided for in Clause 2,” he said, adding that the public would understand and support the change if the bill were returned to the House for amendment.

Wehner also questioned the bill’s provision setting bereavement damages at $20,000, suggesting the legislation should include a mechanism allowing the amount to increase over time without requiring Parliament to revisit the law.

“Let us now make the amendment here that you don’t have to come to amend the bill,” he said.

During the committee stage, the bill’s legal drafter clarified that the $20,000 bereavement award was intended as a one-time statutory payment for grieving spouses, parents and children, and did not prevent courts from awarding other categories of damages where appropriate.

Despite the opposition’s proposed amendments, the government used its majority to approve the bill without changes.

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